Retinoic acid-induced developmental defects are mediated by RARbeta/RXR heterodimers in the pharyngeal endoderm

Fusion and hypoplasia of the first two branchial arches, a defect typically observed in retinoic acid (RA) embryopathy, is generated in cultured mouse embryos upon treatment with BMS453, a synthetic compound that exhibits retinoic acid receptor beta (RARbeta) agonistic properties in transfected cells. By contrast, no branchial arch defects are observed following treatment with synthetic retinoids that exhibit RARalpha or RARgamma agonistic properties. The BMS453-induced branchial arch defects are mediated through RAR activation, as they are similar to those generated by a selective pan-RAR agonist, are prevented by a selective pan-RAR antagonist and cannot be mimicked by exposure to a pan-RXR agonist alone. They are enhanced in the presence of a pan-RXR agonist, and cannot be generated in Rarb-null embryos. Furthermore, they are accompanied, in the morphologically altered region, by ectopic expression of Rarb and of several other direct RA target genes. Therefore, craniofacial abnormalities characteristic of the RA embryopathy are mediated through ectopic activation of RARbeta/RXR heterodimers, in which the ligand-dependent activity of RXR is subordinated to that of RARbeta. Endodermal cells lining the first two branchial arches respond to treatment with the RARbeta agonist, in contrast to neural crest cells and ectoderm, which suggests that a faulty endodermal regionalization is directly responsible for RA-induced branchial arch dysmorphologies. Additionally, we provide the first in vivo evidence that the synthetic RARbeta agonist BMS453 exhibits an antagonistic activity on the two other RAR isotypes.     

Rational design of RAR-selective ligands revealed by RARbeta crystal stucture

The crystal structure of the ligand-binding domain of RARbeta, a suspect tumour suppressor, reveals important features that distinguish it from the two other RAR isotypes. The most striking difference is an extra cavity allowing RARbeta to bind more bulky agonists. Accordingly, we identified a ligand that shows RARbeta selectivity with a 100-fold higher affinity to RARbeta than to alpha or gamma isotypes. The structural differences between the three RAR ligand-binding pockets revealed a rationale explaining how a single retinoid can be at the same time an RARalpha, gamma antagonist and an RARbeta agonist. In addition, we demonstrate how to generate an RARbeta antagonist by gradually modifying the bulkiness of a single substitution. Together, our results provide structural guidelines for the synthesis of RARbeta-selective agonists and antagonists, allowing for the first time to address pharmacologically the tumour suppressor role of RARbeta in vitro and in animal models.     

A new class of RAR subtype selective retinoids: correlation of pharmacological effects with receptor activity

The synthesis and biological activity of a series of structurally related retinoids with different RAR subtype selectivities are described. These retinoids bind to all three RAR subtypes but in functional transactivation assays, they show RARbeta or RARbeta,gamma selectivity with weak RARalpha activity. The subtype selectivity of these retinoids was found to correlate with their efficacy (ODC inhibition) and toxicity (topical irritation and teratogenicity) profiles. The degree of RARgamma transactivation activity correlates with their topical toxicity and teratogenicity as measured by the inhibition of chondrogenesis. Of the RARbeta selective retinoids reported here, retinoid 12 is the most promising, as it is completely devoid of two common retinoid related toxicities, namely topical irritation and teratogenesis.     

Requirement of retinoic acid receptor isotypes alpha, beta, and gamma during the initial steps of neural differentiation of PCC7 cells

Retinoic acid (RA) is indispensable for morphogenesis and differentiation of several tissues, including the nervous system. The requirement of the RA receptor (RAR) isotypes alpha, beta, and gamma and the putative role of retinoid X receptor-(RXR) signaling in RA-induced neural differentiation, was analyzed. For this compound-selective retinoids and the murine embryonal carcinoma cell line PCC7, a model system for RA-dependent neural differentiation was used. The present paper shows that proliferating PCC7 cells primarily express RXRalpha and RARalpha, lower levels of RXRbeta, and barely detectable amounts of RARbeta, RARgamma, and RXRgamma. At receptor-selective concentrations, only a RARalpha or RARgamma agonist induced the typical tissue-like differentiation pattern consisting of neuronal and nonneuronal cells. Differentiation-associated processes, such as the down-regulation of Oct4, up-regulation of certain nuclear receptors and proneuronal genes, and the induction of neuronal markers could be triggered by receptor-selective concentrations of a RARalpha-, beta-, or gamma-selective agonist, although with distinct efficacy. The differences are only partially explained by the distinct RARalpha, beta, and gamma expression levels and the dissociation constants for the bound retinoids, suggesting differential requirement of RAR isotypes during the initial stages of neural differentiation of PCC7 cells.     

Differential effects of several retinoid receptor-selective ligands on squamous differentiation and apoptosis in airway epithelial cells

The roles of the different retinoid receptors on the differentiation of rabbit tracheal epithelial (RbTE) cells in primary culture were analysed using selective agonists for the retinoid acid receptor subtypes RARalpha (CD336), RARbeta (CD2019), RARgamma (CD437), an RAR panagonist (CD367), a retinoid X receptor RXR panagonist (CD2624) and an antagonist for RARbeta/gamma (CD2665). Squamous differentiation was assessed via expression of cytokeratins CK13/CK4 and transglutaminase I (TGI), specific markers of metaplasia. Treatment with RARalpha and beta agonists or RAR panagonist, but not the RARgamma agonist or RXR agonist, is required for the inhibition of squamous metaplasia, evidenced by inhibition of CK13/CK4 and TGI expression. The expression of CK10 cytokeratin of keratinizing epithelia, CK14/CK5 basal cell cytokeratins, and CK6 marker of cell proliferation decreases upon exposure of the RARaalpha/beta and RXR agonists. The RARgamma agonist CD437, inactive in the decrease in CK13/CK4, CK10 and CK14, reduces CK5/CK6 amounts. CD437 is responsible for a dose-dependent apoptotic response. Nuclear labelling with propidium iodide (PI) and electron microscopy revealed chromatin condensation and nuclear fragmentation. DNA cleavage and cell fragmentation were confirmed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and flow cytometry. The RARbetagamma antagonist was also slightly active. The results indicate that CD437 causes growth arrest in the early S-phase of the cell cycle and prevents the transition G1-S-phase. CD437 was demonstrated to induce apoptosis in the S-phase cells identified by bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation. In conclusion, RARalpha/beta ligands are effective inhibitors of squamous differentiation. On the contrary, RARgamma ligand appears to be inefficient in metaplasia inhibition, but the selective RARgamma agonist CD437 induces growth arrest and apoptosis of basal proliferative cells.     

Evidence that retinoic acid receptor beta induction by retinoids is important for tumor cell growth inhibition

Retinoic acid receptor beta (RARbeta) is thought to be involved in suppressing cell growth and tumorigenicity. Many premalignant and malignant cells exhibit a reduced RARbeta expression. However, in some of these cells (e.g. H157 human squamous cell carcinoma cells), RARbeta can be induced by retinoids (e.g. all-trans-retinoic acid, ATRA) because its promoter contains a retinoic acid response element. To examine the hypothesis that RARbeta induction is important for inhibition of cell proliferation by retinoids, we blocked ATRA-induced RARbeta expression in H157 cells using a retroviral vector harboring multiple copies of antisense RARbeta2 sequences. Antisense RARbeta-transfected cells showed not only decreased expression of ATRA-induced RARbeta protein but also reduced ATRA-induced RARE binding activity and transactivation. Importantly, all antisense RARbeta transfectants of H157 cells were less responsive than vector-transfected cells to the growth inhibitory effects of the retinoids ATRA and Ch55 in vitro. These results demonstrate that RARbeta induction may play an important role in mediating growth inhibitory effects of retinoids in cancer cells.     

Retinoid signalling and gene expression in neuroblastoma cells: RXR agonist and antagonist effects on CRABP-II and RARbeta expression

9-cis Retinoic acid (RA) induces gene expression in neuroblastoma cells more effectively and with different kinetics than other RA isomers, and could be acting in part through Retinoid X Receptors (RXRs). The aim of this study was to characterise the effects of an RXR agonist and RXR homodimer antagonist on the induction of cellular RA binding protein II (CRABP-II) and RA receptor-beta (RARbeta) in neuroblastoma cells in response to different retinoids. The RXR agonist, LDG1069, was as effective as all-trans RA in inducing gene expression, but less effective than 9-cis RA. The RXR-homodimer antagonist, LG100754, inhibited the induction of CRABP-II mRNA in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells by 9-cis RA or the RXR-specific agonist LGD1069, but had no effect when used with all-trans RA. Conversely, LG100754 did not inhibit induction of RARbeta mRNA by 9-cis or all-trans RA, or by LGD1069. RAR- and RXR-specific ligands used together induced CRABP-II and RARbeta as effectively as 9-cis RA. These results demonstrate the value of combining RXR- and RAR-specific ligands to regulate RA-inducible gene expression. The possibility that RXR-homodimers mediate, in part, the induction of CRABP-II by 9-cis RA and RXR-specific ligands is discussed.     

Ajulemic acid, a synthetic nonpsychoactive cannabinoid acid, bound to the ligand binding domain of the human peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma

Ajulemic acid (AJA) is a synthetic analog of THC-11-oic acid, a metabolite of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the major active ingredient of the recreational drug marijuana derived from the plant Cannabis sativa. AJA has potent analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity in vivo, but without the psychotropic action of THC. However, its precise mechanism of action remains unknown. Biochemical studies indicate that AJA binds directly and selectively to the isotype gamma of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPARgamma) suggesting that this may be a pharmacologically relevant receptor for this compound and a potential target for drug development in the treatment of pain and inflammation. Here, we report the crystal structure of the ligand binding domain of the gamma isotype of human PPAR in complex with ajulemic acid, determined at 2.8-A resolution. Our results show a binding mode that is compatible with other known partial agonists of PPAR, explaining their moderate activation of the receptor, as well as the structural basis for isotype selectivity, as observed previously in vitro. The structure also provides clues to the understanding of partial agonism itself, suggesting a rational approach to the design of molecules capable of activating the receptor at levels that avoid undesirable side effects.     

Inhibition of trans-retinoic acid-resistant human breast cancer cell growth by retinoid X receptor-selective retinoids.

All-trans-retinoic acid (trans-RA) and other retinoids exert anticancer effects through two types of retinoid receptors, the RA receptors (RARs) and retinoid X receptors (RXRs). Previous studies demonstrated that the growth-inhibitory effects of trans-RA and related retinoids are impaired in certain estrogen-independent breast cancer cell lines due to their lower levels of RAR alpha and RARbeta. In this study, we evaluated several synthetic retinoids for their ability to induce growth inhibition and apoptosis in both trans-RA-sensitive and trans-RA-resistant breast cancer cell lines. Our results demonstrate that RXR-selective retinoids, particularly in combination with RAR-selective retinoids, could significantly induce RARbeta and inhibit the growth and induce the apoptosis of trans-RA-resistant, RAR alpha-deficient MDA-MB-231 cells but had low activity against trans-RA-sensitive ZR-75-1 cells that express high levels of RAR alpha. Using gel retardation and transient transfection assays, we found that the effects of RXR-selective retinoids on MDA-MB-231 cells were most likely mediated by RXR-nur77 heterodimers that bound to the RA response element in the RARbeta promoter and activated the RARbeta promoter in response to RXR-selective retinoids. In contrast, growth inhibition by RAR-selective retinoids in trans-RA-sensitive, RAR alpha-expressing cells most probably occurred through RXR-RAR alpha heterodimers that also bound to and activated the RARbeta promoter. In MDA-MB-231 clones stably expressing RAR alpha, both RARbeta induction and growth inhibition by RXR-selective retinoids were suppressed, while the effects of RAR-selective retinoids were enhanced. Together, our results demonstrate that activation of RXR can inhibit the growth of trans-RA-resistant MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and suggest that low cellular RAR alpha may regulate the signaling switch from RAR-mediated to RXR-mediated growth inhibition in breast cancer cells.     

Distinct retinoid X receptor-retinoic acid receptor heterodimers are differentially involved in the control of expression of retinoid target genes in F9 embryonal carcinoma cells.

The F9 murine embryonal carcinoma cell line represents a well-established system for the study of retinoid signaling in vivo. We have investigated the functional specificity of different retinoid X receptor (RXR)-retinoic acid (RA) receptor (RAR) isotype pairs for the control of expression of endogenous RA-responsive genes, by using wild-type (WT), RXR alpha(-/-), RAR alpha(-/-), RAR gamma(-/-), RXR alpha(-/-)-RAR alpha(-/-), and RXR alpha(-/-)-RAR gamma(-/-) F9 cells, as well as panRXR and RAR isotype (alpha, beta, and gamma)-selective retinoids. We show that in these cells the control of expression of different sets of RA-responsive genes is preferentially mediated by distinct RXR-RAR isotype combinations. Our data support the conclusion that RXR-RAR heterodimers are the functional units transducing the retinoid signal and indicate in addition that these heterodimers exert both specific and redundant functions on the expression of particular sets of RA-responsive genes. We also show that the presence of a given receptor isotype can hinder the activity of another isotype and therefore that functional redundancy between retinoid receptor isotypes can be artifactually generated by gene knockouts.     

Differential regulation of protein expression, growth and apoptosis by natural and synthetic retinoids

All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) can down regulate the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 and the cell cycle proteins cyclin D1 and cdk2 in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer cells. We show here that retinoids can also reduce expression of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein, survivin. Here we have compared the regulation of these proteins in MCF-7 and ZR-75 breast cancer cells by natural and synthetic retinoids selective for the RA receptors (RARs) alpha, beta, and gamma then correlated these with growth inhibition, induction of apoptosis and chemosensitization to Taxol. In both cell lines ATRA and 9-cis RA induced the most profound decreases in cyclin D1 and cdk2 expression and also mediated the largest growth inhibition. The RARalpha agonist, Ro 40-6055 also strongly downregulated these proteins although did not produce an equivalent decrease in S-phase cells. Only ATRA induced RARbeta expression. ATRA, 9-cis RA and 4-HPR initiated the highest level of apoptosis as determined by mitochondrial Bax translocation, while only ATRA and 9-cis RA strongly reduced Bcl-2 and survivin protein expression. Enumeration of dead cells over 96 h correlated well with downregulation of both survivin and Bcl-2. Simultaneous retinoid-mediated reduction of both these proteins also predicted optimal Taxol sensitization. 4-HPR was much weaker than the natural retinoids with respect to Taxol sensitization, consistent with the proposed requirement for reduced Bcl-2 in this synergy. Neither the extent of cell cycle protein regulation nor AP-1 inhibition fully predicted the antiproliferative effect of the synthetic retinoids suggesting that growth inhibition requires regulation of a spectrum of RAR-regulated gene products in addition even to pivotal cell cycle proteins.